This week's story, How I Spent My Summer Vacation, by Mark Teague, is a fantasy selection, written in rhyme. The main character, Wallace Bleff, has to give a report telling about his summer vacation at his Aunt Fern's house on the plains. Wallace's imagination turns the report into a fantastic tale about cowboys, roping, riding, and a cattle stampede with Wallace as the hero of the tale.

Your child can review and practice the vocabulary words and definitions for How I Spent My Summer Vacation by clicking the Java Games link in the Quia activities section. It may be helpful to print out the list of terms (vocabulary words and meanings) from the game choices page so your child can refer to them as needed during practice. Once your child can easily match the words and definitions, have him/her try playing the Columns Game where vocabulary words are used in the context of sentences.

Have some fun with the Useful links section at the bottom of the Class Page. It features hyperlinks to other sites that contain background materials and enrichment activities that go along with this week's story. These links are provided as an extra opportunity for fun and learning for you and your second grader.